


Stuck

by GuardianOfTheLoaf



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Final Fantasy XV Spoilers, M/M, Panic Attacks, Pitioss Ruins (Final Fantasy XV), Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 11:48:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17202887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuardianOfTheLoaf/pseuds/GuardianOfTheLoaf
Summary: Stuck in Pitioss, alone and suffering.





	Stuck

Pitioss was not a normal dungeon, at least not one that the four had faced before. When Noctis jumped the ledge and the sounds of his friends bickering cut out he at first did not realize what that meant. He jumped back over the ledge and there they were, confused as to why he had left their sight. "What happened?" Prompto asked, his brow furrowed. "We tried to follow you but it's like there was an invisible wall there?"

Noct frowned at his friend and jumped back to the other side, then turned to look behind him. He was alone again. Why couldn't they follow him? He didn't want to do a dungeon alone, they were hard enough with his friends to help him. He went back to his friends, running a hand through his hair. He glanced at Ignis who shook his head. "We can't follow you, Noctis." Gladio had a perturbed expression on his face and his arms were crossed over his chest.

"I guess I'll have to do it on my own." Noctis sighed, glancing at the seemingly innocent looking structure.

"Is it worth it?" Prompto asked, grimacing. "I mean, it could be dangerous and we can't go in to help you."

"There could be a royal arm or-" 

Gladio interrupted Ignis. "Prompto's right. If you get injured in there by yourself we can't get to you. Is whatever is in there really worth that chance?"

"It's fine." Noctis sighed. "If it gets too difficult I'll come back." Gladio frowned but nodded.

"We will wait here for you." Ignis said and Noctis nodded before turning his back to them and jumping the ledge again. He entered the dungeon with preconceived notions as to how the dungeon would be. Some baddies to fight and ledges to crawl across to get to the treasure at the end just like they always were, but he was wrong. He was so wrong.

The first time he died a random wall moved and pushed him into a myriad of awaiting, red hot spikes. He fell, terror ripping through him, and then he landed, a dozen spikes tearing through flesh. It didn't kill him immediately. No, first he felt it, the pain of the spikes burning through his body, cauterizing his organs and burning his insides as he screamed. He yelled for his friends, desperate for help, regretting his decision to enter the dungeon and to die stuck to the floor like a pinned bug, waiting for its dessication. He felt the life being leached out of him, his body turning cold despite the fiery metal protruding through his muscle. Then, all of a sudden, he was back right before where he had fallen from. He gasped, dropping to his knees, tears leaking from his eyes as he felt the remnants of pain, tearing through him. He choked, his head rapidly turning from side to side. His hands explored his body, searching for wounds or rips in his clothing, but he was fine, as if nothing had happened. "What?" He asked gutterally.

He slowly pulled himself to his knees, breathing heavily, his heart racing. He stood for a moment, trying to recover. This dungeon was not like the others.

When he came across the nightmare skull was when he considered turning back and going back to his friends. The thing was coming at him as if to tear him limb from limb, its eyes boring into him. It came closer and stopped right in front of him before going back only to come forward again. Noct's fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. He hated this place. He truly hated this place and if he came across whatever monster created it he was sure he might murder them.

Noctis decided to keep going, after all, he had gone through so much already just to get this far, he couldn't give up now. So, he continued to die over and over again, until he was always just waiting on the next thing to come out and murder him before he had a chance to react. The dungeon never seemed to end as he found potions and other materials to put in his armiger. So far, there was nothing worth this hell and he knew there wouldn't be. He just continued on, hoping the exit was closer than turning around and going back to the entrance. He wanted out, he wanted out, he wanted out. It felt like it was taking longer to come back every time, and he wondered what would happen if he didn't come back. He wondered if it actually was taking longer or if he was imagining it, he had no sense of time here, except for his cell phone which had died after two days. He knew there was one death where he fell onto a ledge with no way off and he waited and waited to die until he starved to death. He had considered killing himself but at the time couldn't bring himself to do it. That took forever though. The next time that happened, he took a dagger within seconds of falling and slit his throat.

He was so tired he was hallucinating things that caused him to die even more often. He didn't know what was real any more. He moved on as a zombie, dying and dying and dead. He even wished he could really die, anything for this hell to end. He knew he had things to do and people to save but those thoughts were so far away at the moment and it seemed he would never be able to leave this place. Killing himself was futile. There was no way out and he felt he was doomed to suffer in Pitioss forever.

He tried anyway. Killing himself that is. He tried stasis, warping and warping until he couldn’t move, and then forcing himself to continue expelling magic through his fingertips until he died. That didn’t work. He tried slitting his throat and his wrists, he tried bashing his brain in, he tried decapitation. Nothing worked. He really was alone and stuck.

He mumbled to himself intelligibly, trudging forward, jumping and falling and falling some more. He fell more than he walked and thought that the ground was moving beneath him when he was actually on it, which at this point felt less than he wasn’t. Maybe it was moving. How could he tell with this place.

When he was suddenly back at the entrance he didn't feel anything, nor did he feel anything when he realized he had finished the dungeon and gotten a lot of stuff that they could use. He walked out of hell into sunlight so bright it burned his eyes straight into his brain. He groaned, unable to see, but walked forward anyway, trying to get away from the wretched place. He stumbled and fell, he expected to go back but instead he crashed into the ground, a cry bursting out of him as he landed on his arm. He groaned and didn't move, panting. It was hot, the sun was bright and he was out. How long had he been in there, how many days? He lay there in a daze until something shook his arm and he screamed, jerking up and away. He scrambled back, eyes wide. It was only Ignis though.

"You're back." Ignis said and Noct blinked, his breath catching in his chest.

"Ig." He choked out, tears suddenly falling from his eyes.

"Noct?" Ignis leaned back in surprise as Prompto and Gladio ran up behind Ignis. Noctis' hands clutched at his chest as his crying turned into violent sobbing and his chest lurched with breaths that were breathed too rapidly. He fell onto his back and rolled to his side, gasping and choking. 

"Noct!" Prompto yelled, breaking out of his surprised daze and rushing to Noct's side.

"Why's he having a panic attack?" Prompto exclaimed, pulling Noct back up into a sitting position and leaning into him. No one answered his question as Prompto hugged Noct, whispering comforting words into his ears and reassuring his friend that he was okay, that he was safe. Eventually Noct’s panic attack eased and Prompto was left with a tired man in his arms. Prompto looked over at Ignis who shrugged, confused.

“How long was I in there?” Noctis rasped.

Prompto blinked. “About 30 hours.”

At that Noctis leaned back, all of the blood draining from his face. “No.” He said, pushing away from Prompto and glancing at the others. “No.” He repeated. “I was in there for...for…” His eyes welled with tears again and he looked from person to person frantically. “I was in there for at least a week.”

The three watched as their friends breathing sped up again. Ignis responded this time. “With everything we’ve come across in our travels it would not be surprising to find a place where time moves differently than the outside world. I am only sorry that you had to experience it on your own, Noctis.” Noctis relaxed slightly at that, slumping backward and looking at his shaking hands.

“You have no idea.” He said so quietly they almost couldn’t hear.

“What did you eat?” Gladio asked, frowning deeply.

Noctis shook his head, breath picking up again. “Nothing.” His voice was a tortured moan.

“Okay. That’s enough for now. Let’s head back to the car and get to a haven.” Ignis said, lifting himself up and moving to Noctis, helping him up. Noctis followed Ignis, practically dead on his feet as they walked to the car. They avoided any fights on their way, worried about their Prince. When they got to the car Noctis slid in and curled into a ball, his eyes closing, his frame shaking lightly. They flew silently back to the nearest haven and the others set up camp while Noctis stayed in the car. Prompto had to go retrieve him and once he was sat down he ate very little of what Ignis made, what he did manage to get down coming right back up as he leaned over the side of the haven and threw it all back up.

Ignis cleaned him up and then helped him get into the tent while the others cleaned their mess outside. When Ignis looked into Noct’s eyes they were crazed and wild. Ignis had never expected to see that look on his Prince’s face. Going against his better judgement he asked, “Noct what happened in there?”

Noct looked up at the question. “I died Iggy.” Ignis frowned, confused. “I died hundreds of times in hundreds of different ways. I was impaled by burning blades, I fell and I fell and I fell, and I starved and I even killed myself and I-”

“Wait, wait, Noct, what?” Ignis shook his head. “You killed yourself, what?”

Noct nodded flippantly. “I fell on a ledge once and was stuck there for days until I died from starvation. Then the next time I fell I couldn’t stand it so I took this dagger and I slid it through my flesh like butter. Do you want me to show you? I’ll come back.”

Noct had pulled a dagger from the armiger and put it to his throat. Ignis reacted, gasping and grabbing the dagger from Noct’s hands. “Noct!” He yelled. “No! What...No!” He couldn’t find any more words to say after what he had just heard and witnessed. Noct shrugged and lied down, curling back into a ball, staring sightlessly at the wall of the tent. Ignis put the dagger in the armiger and slowly backed out of the tent.

The others had stopped what they were doing and were watching him. “What was that?” Gladio asked.

Ignis turned to face them, mind working. He shook his head, then gestured for the others to follow him so he could explain what had just happened. Meanwhile, Nocts was in the tent, mind still in Pitioss where he moved mindlessly from death to death. He didn’t feel like himself anymore. He was no one, he was just death, dying and dead. “A fucking hood.” He murmured to himself. “A fucking hood.” His voice grew softer as he finally fell into a real sleep for the first time in who knows how long.

Outside, Prompto was gaping as Ignis finished explaining. “What the heck happened in there?”

“I am not sure, but I’m going to call Cor. Maybe he knows something about it.” Ignis sighed worriedly.

“Good idea.” Gladio answered.

“I’m going to stay with Noctis, in case he…I don’t know.” Prom said and Ignis nodded. Then the three went in separate directions. Prompto found Noctis in the tent, in the fetal position, gasping in his sleep, his brow furrowed. Prompto worried for Noct, worried for what he went through without Prompto there to help him. Prom lifted his hand to run through Noct’s hair but as soon as he connected with his head Noct lurched up, eyes wide and crazed, looking for danger, looking for somewhere to run, his fingers twitching.

“Noct, sorry, it was just me.” Prompto raised his hands innocently. Noct visibly swallowed, trying to relax. He wasn’t in the dungeon anymore, that’s what he needed to keep telling himself. He nodded to Prompto and leaned back on his hands.

“How can I help you buddy?” Prompto was frowning, his eyes swimming.

Noctis shook his head, looking down. “I don’t know, I feel so messed up. In there...it was…” He looked up, meeting Prompto’s eyes, “It was Hell, Prompto.” He swallowed thickly, fighting another panic attack, wrapping his arms around himself.

Prompto came forward then, pulling Noctis into a tight hug. “It’s going to be okay, Noct. You’re here with us and you’re safe.”

Nocti stiffened at those words before softening, leaning hard into his friend, his eyes filling with tears. His throat closed as the tears uncontrollably overflowed and he began sobbing violently, his voice racking. He shoved his face into Prompto’s shoulder, screaming with the inner pain that was spilling out in a storm. “I wanted to die in there.” He moaned. “I tried to die and I couldn’t.” He shoved his face harder against Prompto, choking on his breath. “I tried everything and nothing worked.” He moaned loudly. “Nothing worked Prompto.”

Prompto was stricken, unsure what to do with this information. “Well,” he started, voice husky with his own tears he was holding back, “I am glad it didn’t work. We’re all glad you made it and that you’re here with us now. You made it.”

Noct nodded against his friend and didn’t speak again. He fell asleep on Prompto and Prompto laid him down against the blankets, smoothing his hair away from where it was sticking to his salty cheeks. “It’s going to be okay.” He whispered. “We’ll take care of you.”


End file.
